Billy Sperrin

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Billy Sperrin
Personal information
Full name William Thomas Sperrin [1]
Date of birth(1922-04-09)9 April 1922
Place of birth Wood Green, England
Date of death 21 June 2000(2000-06-21) (aged 78) [1]
Place of death Sawbridgeworth, England
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) [2]
Position(s) Inside forward
Youth career
Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Tottenham Hotspur 27 (6)
→ Clapton Orient (guest)
→ Fulham (guest)
→ Millwall (guest)
→ Bradford Park Avenue (guest)
→ Brighton & Hove Albion (guest) 2
1943–1944 → Chelsea (guest) 3 (1)
Finchley
0000–1949 Guildford City
1949–1956 Brentford 90 (27)
Tunbridge Wells United
Hillingdon Borough
North Greenford United
Managerial career
Hillingdon Borough (assistant)
Hillingdon Borough (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Thomas Sperrin (9 April 1922 – 21 June 2000) was an English football inside forward and coach. He made 100 appearances as a player for Brentford and was later a member of the coaching staff at Hillingdon Borough for 12 years.

Contents

Club career

Early years

An inside forward, Sperrin began his career as an amateur at Second Division club Tottenham Hotspur and also represented Middlesex Schools. [2] His career was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, but he managed to make 27 wartime appearances for the club, scoring six goals. [3] He also played as a guest for Clapton Orient, Fulham, Millwall, Bradford Park Avenue, Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea during the war. [2] After the war, Sperrin dropped into non-league football and had a short spell at Athenian League club Finchley and then spent a season with Southern League club Guildford City. [2]

Brentford

Sperrin joined Second Division club Brentford in September 1949 and made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday at Griffin Park on 1 October 1949. [2] [4] He gradually broke into the team and scored 11 goals in 35 appearances during the 1951–52 season. [4] Sperrin's appearances subsequently tailed off and he made just 23 appearances between August 1952 and his final appearance in September 1956. [4] In 1956, he was jointly awarded a testimonial with George Bristow, Ken Horne and Reg Newton against an International Managers XI. [2] Sperrin made 100 appearances and scored 30 goals during his seven years at Griffin Park. [2]

Non-league football

Sperrin dropped back into non-league football in 1956, linking up with fellow Brentford departee Reg Newton at Kent League First Division club Tunbridge Wells United. [2] He ended his career with a 14-year spell at Southern League club Hillingdon Borough and finally North Greenford United. [2]

Coaching career

After his retirement as a player, Sperrin went on to serve Yiewsley (later named Hillingdon Borough) for 12 years in the trainer, coach, assistant manager and caretaker manager roles. [2] As assistant manager, he had the honour of leading the team out for the 1971 FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium, as player-manager Jim Langley had included himself in the starting lineup. [3]

Personal life

Sperrin's brother James was also a footballer and the brothers' early careers mirrored each other, with both on the books at Tottenham Hotspur and later signing for Finchley. [3] Sperrin's son Martyn was also a footballer. [3]

Honours

Hillingdon Borough

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brentford 1949–50 [4] Second Division 14310153
1950–51 [4] 2611102711
1951–52 [4] 319423511
1952–53 [4] 12330153
1953–54 [4] 201131
1954–55 [4] Third Division South 310031
1955–56 [4] 200020
Career total902710310030

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southall F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Southall Football Club is a football club representing Southall in the London Borough of Ealing, England. The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They are currently members of the Isthmian League South Central Division.

Albert Henry Gibbons was an English professional footballer and manager who played in the Football League for Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford and Bradford Park Avenue. After his retirement as a player, he managed in England, Israel, South Africa and at international level.

Neil Smith is an English former professional football player and currently first team manager at Cray Wanderers.

William Albert James Manuel is an English retired professional football left back and midfielder, best remembered for his time in the Football League with Brentford and Gillingham. His tenacious performances in midfield for Brentford led to the nickname 'Billy the Pit Bull'.

Douglas 'Doug' Hunt was a professional footballer whose career lasted from 1934 to 1948. Hunt was a centre forward who played for Tottenham Hotspur, Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday and Leyton Orient. Hunt lost some of his best years as a footballer to World War II being only 25 when war was declared. In his 14-year career he made 169 appearances including cup ties and scored 73 goals. Hunt holds a special place in the annals of Sheffield Wednesday being the only player in their history to score six goals in a competitive match. On retiring from playing, Hunt was a manager and a coach in non-league football for 38 years.

John Brooks was an English professional footballer who played for Reading, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Brentford, Crystal Palace in the Football League. Brooks won three England caps and scored two goals. Towards the end of his career he played in non-League football with Stevenage Town and Cambridge City and in North America with Cleveland Stokers. He later player-managed Knebworth. His son Shaun Brooks also had a career in professional football.

Alan Victor Nelmes is an English retired professional footballer who made over 300 appearances as a defender in the Football League for Brentford. He was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in November 2014.

Brian Statham is an English retired professional footballer who made over 160 appearances in the Football League for Brentford as a right back. He also played league football for Tottenham Hotspur, Gillingham, Reading, Bournemouth and was capped by England at U21 level.

John Joseph Graham is a Scottish former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder and inside left. He is best remembered for the decade he spent in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made over 400 appearances. Graham was voted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in December 2013.

Danis Mahmut Mehmet Salman, sometimes known as Danny Salman, is an English former professional football player and coach, best remembered for his time as a defender in the Football League with Brentford. He made over 380 appearances for the Bees, is the club's youngest-ever league debutant and was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. He also played for Millwall, Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United. Born in Cyprus, he represented England at youth level.

Malcolm MacDonald was a Scottish professional footballer and manager, best remembered for his time as a utility player with Celtic and as a manager with Kilmarnock and Brentford. MacDonald managed the Scotland national team on a caretaker basis in 1966. He is a member of the Brentford Hall of Fame.

Gary Paul Michael Roberts is a Welsh retired professional footballer who played as a forward and winger. As a player, he is best remembered for his six years in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made over 220 appearances and is a member of the club's Hall of Fame. After retiring as a player, Roberts turned to management and spent 13 years as manager of Cambridge City.

David Nelson was a Scottish professional football player and manager, who played in the Football League for Brentford, Queens Park Rangers, Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace as a wing half.

Terence William Evans is an English former professional footballer who played as a central defender and made over 530 career appearances. He spent the majority of his career in the Football League with Brentford and Wycombe Wanderers and captained both clubs. He is a member of the Brentford Hall of Fame. After his retirement from football, Evans served as caretaker manager, assistant manager and physiotherapist at Wycombe Wanderers. After leaving football, he worked in physiotherapist roles at a number of rugby union clubs.

Leonard Francis Townsend was an English professional footballer who made over 110 Football League appearances, either side of the Second World War, for Brentford, Bristol City and Millwall as an inside right. He later became a manager in non-League football, serving Hayes, Slough Town and in two spells, Maidenhead United. Townsend's achievements with Maidenhead United saw him inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2005.

Alan James Hawley is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a right back. He made over 340 appearances for Brentford and was added to the club's Hall of Fame in 2013.

Gordon David Phillips was an English professional footballer who made over 200 appearances in the Football League for Brentford as a goalkeeper. He later became a coach.

Frederick John Monk was an English professional footballer and coach who played in Football League for Brentford and Aldershot. He is best remembered for his time with Brentford, for whom he made over 200 appearances and served as caretaker manager. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015.

Kenneth William Horne was an English professional footballer and coach, best remembered for his 11 years in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made over 220 appearances. He was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2015.

Reginald William Newton was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Brentford and Leyton Orient.

References

  1. 1 2 "Billy Sperrin". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 152. ISBN   978-0955294914.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Football Statistics :: Football History :: 11v11". www.11v11.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 380–383. ISBN   0951526200.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.